The Romanian ultranationalist politician was picked up by police for questioning earlier on Wednesday regarding false funding sources and false information in his last campaign.
Prosecutors in Romania have opened criminal proceedings against ultranationalist politician and 2024 presidential election candidate Călin Georgescu on six counts, including anticonstitutional acts and misreporting his finances, authorities said on Wednesday.
The charges also revolve around his support for sympathisers of the Iron Guard, a pre-World War II fascist and antisemitic movement and political party, which is illegal under Romanian law.
Georgescu, known as “The TikTok Messiah,” has also been barred from leaving the country and is not allowed to create new social media accounts on top of the ones he already owns, according to Euronews Romania sources.
The authorities have stopped short of arresting him, however.
“We are the people, we are the power. We will not kneel before anyone. This was expected. The whole world knows what is happening in Romania now. It’s the despair here combined with that of Brussels,” Georgescu said after leaving the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Georgescu was picked up by police officers from a traffic stop and taken to the Prosecutor General’s Office for questioning.
The prosecutors questioned Georgescu as part of an investigation reportedly looking into “zero expenses” declared by Georgescu for last year’s electoral campaign, sources said.
He was initially asked to provide information over two counts: “false statements regarding funding sources” and “communicating false information,” Euronews Romania reported in their live coverage.
Prior to his questioning, prosecutors gathered all the documentation used by Georgescu to sign up for the presidential race, sources in the judiciary told Euronews Romania.
Georgescu was on his way to file his candidacy for the presidency when he was stopped in traffic, a statement issued by his team on Facebook claims.
“About 30 minutes ago, the system stopped him in traffic and he was pulled over for questioning at the Prosecutor General’s Office. Where is democracy, where are the partners who must defend democracy,” the statement said.
Contrary to Georgescu’s team’s claims, sources at the Electoral Commission told Euronews Romania that the candidate registration process has not opened yet.
Supporters of the far-right Party of Young People (POT), which splintered from another far-right party, AUR, and is among Georgescu’s most vocal backers, announced they would protest in front of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Some 200 people have gathered since.
“The judiciary has the duty to present extremely solid proof to the public (…) so that this criminal investigation is not hijacked into an election manifesto by a certain candidate,” Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in a statement.
“The judiciary is independent and the law must be applied regardless of the persons involved, respecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens,” Ciolacu added.
Raids in five counties
Georgescu’s questioning was part of a nationwide police action that also involved raids against a total of 27 individuals under investigation for a number of crimes, including anti-constitutional actions, possession of illegal weapons caches, instigating racism, fascism and xenophobia and “promoting a cult of personality accused of genocide and war crimes”.
The sweeping raids, taking place at more than 40 locations across five Romanian counties, also included Horațiu Potra, a mercenary previously linked to Georgescu.
Potra, who owns a private military company and is a former member of the French Foreign Legion, was detained in mid-December over allegations of planning large-scale protests in favour of Georgescu.
Potra was investigated on illegal possession of weapons and ammunition charges, as well as public incitement to unsanctioned gatherings, but was ultimately released.
Georgescu came out on top in the first round of Romania’s presidential elections in December, which the country’s constitutional court annulled following the declassification of intelligence reports showing Russian involvement in influencing voters through social media to support the then-relatively unknown candidate.
In recent times, Romanian politics have suddenly come to the fore among top allies of US President Donald Trump, with his Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr all backing Georgescu or criticising Bucharest for annulling the December vote.
The South African-born billionaire has reacted to news of Georgescu’s questioning, labelling it as “messed up”.
“They just arrested the person who won the most votes in the Romanian presidential election,” he said on his platform X on Wednesday.
You can follow Euronews Romania’s live coverage of this developing story here.
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